


I’ll Take Care of the Dragon

by olddarkmachine



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Kid Fic, Princes & Princesses, Prompt Fill, and dragons oh my, at least starts that way, if this was an anime it'd be a slice of life, thank you prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 13:22:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14285832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olddarkmachine/pseuds/olddarkmachine
Summary: The cave stood before Jellal in all the same glory as it had the last several times he’d found himself riding up to its slate and moss entry.Once upon a time, it had been one of his favorite places.It’s the perfect place for a dragon! He had said when he’d found it with Gajeel and Levy. Then, they had both looked at him with eyes large with wonder before looking up at the cave and smiling in agreement.Really, he only had himself to blame.“You have to admit, at least they make it easy,” Erza said under her breath, voice colored something much to bright to be disappointment as she bit at the corner of her lip to hide her smile.“The only bright side,” Jellal rumbled as he pulled back on his horse’s reins, waiting for him to slow before he swung himself down from his saddle. A loud crunch cut through the quiet as he landed gracelessly on the gravel, the rocks rolling against each other in protest beneath the sole of his boot. Without pause, he moved toward the cave’s wide mouth, barely turning his head as he threw the rest of his words over his shoulder.“I’ll be right back with a princess.”





	I’ll Take Care of the Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> Ya know, now that I’m copy/pasting this, I’m starting to wonder if @bianww meant Gajevy as kids or Gajevy’s kids. ~~oops i am so sorry if you meant their kids and not them as kids D:~~
> 
> Anyway, bit of Jerza and Gajevy in this one. No one really asked for the Jerza but me so here we are lol I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE IT AND THAT I DID YOUR PROMPTS JUSTICE! 
> 
> For reference, prompts were: Dragon Gajeel kidnapping Princess Levy + Gajevy kids and older bro Jellal

“And I will save the princess!”

Jellal’s words echoed through the small clearing, carried by the childish lilt of his voice as he raised a wooden sword up towards the sky in a dramatic pose. A gaggle of laughter answered him from somewhere behind the trees.

“Save me, brother!” Levy’s voice cried from the shadowy tree line, accented by giggles and a sharp shushing noise from her hidden companion.

“You won’t be able to find us, Prince Jellal!” Gajeel yelled back, dipping his voice down into a deeper range to sound much more fearsome than his 7-year-old frame really allowed him to be.

The three of them had been near inseparable since the day Jellal and Levy’s father had brought him to the kingdom to be a stablehand.

 _Be kind to him, he’s special,_  their father had said as he’d ushered the small boy with his wild mop of black hair and slightly pouted mouth forward. Kind had been easy to do when Jellal saw the opportunity to finally make a friend that wasn’t his little sister.

Granted she also ended up tagging along with them whenever they went out to play, but he still had a new friend, so they made it work.

Grin breaking across his face, Jellal lowered his toy sword down to point towards the forest.

“I will beat you, dragon!” He replied before he ran forward with a battle cry that cracked with the pitch of his voice. Swinging the sword around, he couldn’t help the burst of laughter that wrenched from his lungs as he stepped across the shadows marking the end of the clearing and beginning of the woods.

The hardened sole of his boot sank gently into the soft grass as he launched into the woods toward the voices that were now snickering lowly.

“Levy!” Jellal called, jumping around the side of a large oak with his sword poised in front of him, only to be met by open air. Another round of giggles wrapped around him as he turned, trying to pinpoint where they came from.

“Wrong!” Levy’s voice was bright as she shouted from where she hid, only to be shushed once more by Gajeel.

“Lev,” he warned quietly, dropping his voice a fraction as if the quiet of the forest didn’t carry all sound. The way his tone had changed meant Gajeel was taking it seriously finally, which meant the real game was beginning.

Save the Princess was always their favorite to play. A mix between tag and hide and seek, Levy was always the princess by default, and Jellal and Gajeel often traded the duties of prince and dragon. Though, the general consensus was that it was best when Gajeel was the dragon if only because he had one major characteristic that made him the perfect candidate for the role.

“Gotcha!” Jellal yelled as he ran towards the sound of their voices and pushed himself excitedly around another tree. Instead of his sister and his best friend, he was met by a fitful of giggles.

“Wrong again, Jellal!” Levy said happily, her voice sounding right on top of where he was as he turned his head to and fro in search of the sound. They were close.

They had to be.

“Shhh, Levy, he’s gonna find us,” Gajeel hushed, his tone turning rough with his whisper.

A small rustle of leaves followed his words as one fell down from the branches above, floating down into Jellal’s vision and then landing gracefully at his foot. Staring down at the Fall colored leaf, his mouth twisted with a smile as he traced its edges before slowly tilting his head upwards toward the sky.

Above him, stretching out across the limbs of trees were fiery leaves lit by the light of the sun shining through them. Even he could admit it was a pretty sight.

Of course, the sight of Levy and Gajeel peering down at him from their perch on a particularly thick branch was a pretty nice one too.

“Found you!” He called up, thrust his wooden sword up to point at where they sat, not missing the way Levy’s face split around a large smile as she lifted her hand in a small sheepish wave. Beside her, Gajeel’s hair hung in his face as he looked down at him with a look caught between happiness and sheer competitive contemplation.

“It hardly counts, Jellal, you had some help!” Gajeel said as he gently knocked an elbow into Levy’s side and making her giggle as she squirmed. Jellal didn’t miss the way the small laugh stretched Gajeel’s mouth into a wider smile.

“Well he is my brother, silly,” she hummed, bumping a shoulder into his in soft retaliation that sent a flush across the boy’s cheeks.

He knew that Gajeel liked to think that his crush on his sister was something of a secret. Which, was funny since Jellal couldn’t remember a point in time when his friend hadn’t turned the brightest shade of pink in Levy’s presence.

 _You like her,_  he had said one day, drawing out the ‘i’ as he fluttered his eyelashes.

No I don’t! Gajeel had yelled as he’d pouted, crossing his small arms across his chest in a show of irritation that might have been effective if his cheeks weren’t stained red.

 _Oh, I’m sorry_ , Jellal had said lowly, looking away in feigned apology before he smirked wickedly and looked back at his friend.  _You like like her_.

No, it wasn’t a secret that Gajeel held a soft spot for the blue haired girl. At least, not from him, or their parents, or the servants, or the horses that he tended.

Jellal watched as Levy kept her sun brightened smile trained fully on her companion, completely unaware of how her attentions were the reason behind his new complexion.

At least someone didn’t know.

“Come down here, dragon!” Jellal boasted, flourishing his sword up at the pair and interrupting the moment of silent communication that they were sharing. “I am here for the princess!”

It was a challenge. The start to their duel filled with over dramatics that pulled Gajeel’s attention down to him. Rolling his eyes skyward, he stuck his tongue out, but wrapped an arm around Levy’s waist all the same.

“Are you, prince?” He scoffed as two small black wings unfurled from his back. As they settled outward over them both, their metallic tips caught the light of the sun, throwing glimmers of bright light cutting down around Jellal.

The first time he had seen Gajeel’s wings had been during their very first game of Save the Princess. He had taken his role of dragon quite literally as he’d transformed right before their eyes, turning into a small dragon, scaled in onyx and iron. It had been a shock that had stolen his words as Gajeel had ushered Levy onto his back with a soft nudge of his snout.

 _He’s special_ , his father’s voice had reminded him in that moment. Special didn’t even begin to cut it.

Gajeel was a  _dragon_.

Needless to say, he won that round of Save the Princess.

Since that day, he favored his mid-transformation form that left him a boy, but with his wings. Gajeel insisted it was because it was easier to do.

Jellal insisted it was because of the way Levy’s eyes lit up at the sight.

“We will see who wins,” his friend said as he slowly beat his wings, lifting the both of them from the branch before he descended carefully from the tree with Levy nestled into his side. Their landing was nearly silent, only betrayed by the soft crunch of fallen leaves from their movement.

After letting go of his sister and giving her a reassuring smile, Gajeel stepped forward with his hands raised in faux claws as he spoke.

“Are you ready to get your butt beat, prince?”

A small snicker danced around them as Levy shoved a hand to her face in an attempt to smother the sound.

“Are you?” Jellal asked as he gripped the wooden hilt with both palms.

Breeze hushed around them as they stood frozen in playful standoff, waiting for the other to make a move. Quick as lightning, Gajeel whipped his hand out and grabbed for Levy’s wrist.

“Run, Lev!” He shouted as he took off running, pulling Levy along behind him with a loud squeal as she looked back over her shoulder to smile at her brother.

It was a dirty move, and Gajeel knew it.

Sighing over his budding smile, he counted to five before taking off after them.

Catching up to them easily, the trio burst through the tree line in a flurry of limbs and laughter as Jellal threw himself toward Gajeel, catching him around his middle as he pulled him down to the ground.

“Got you, dragon!” He cheered as they fell, feeling his friend twist around before falling flat on his back with a soft huff.

“No!” Gajeel cried, drawing out the ‘o’ into a howl as he pushed at Jellal’s hold. “Let me live!”

Shoving himself upwards, the prince sat back on his haunches as he dug his fingers into Gajeel’s sides, turning his laugh maniacal as his victim squirmed. For a moment, he was certain he’d won this round.

Had seen victory so complete that it was near tangible as he continued to tickle the dragon.

In hindsight, he should have known it was too easy.

“And I got you!” Levy yelled as she through herself onto her brother’s shoulders, wrenching him to the side with a quick tug. The clearing shifted on its axis, tilting as he found himself laid out besides Gajeel with his little sister hugging at his back.

Laughter shook her small frame and reverberated through him before she pulled away just enough for him to fall onto his back.

Above them the sky was a clear blue looking down at them through the trees.

“Well that’s a first,” Gajeel laughed, his arm brushing against Jellal’s as he pulled it upward to crook it behind his head.

“What?” Jellal asked, mirroring the the pose as he kept his eyes connected with the bright blue.

“Looks like the princess saved the dragon.”

Silence fell over the trio as they contemplated Gajeel’s words.

Then, in a rush of fizzling joy, laughter over took the clearing, shattering the quiet as they rolled against each other in the grass.

***

Jellal rubbed at his temples with weary fingers as he sighed heavily from where he sat eyeing Erza as she stood at the other end of the table, waiting for his response.

 _Levy is missing_ , she’d said when he’d finally looked up from the latest treaty he’d been working on with the neighboring kingdom.

 _Again_.

That much had been implied by her tone. Tacking it on at the end of her statement had been nothing more than insult to injury to be quite honest.

The first time Levy had gone missing had been shortly after their parents’ funerals. Then, he had flown into a state of panic, nearly overturning the kingdom to find her. It had been horrible to lose both parents so suddenly to an accident that quickened his ascension to the throne, but the mere thought of losing Levy had been unbearable.

The second time, his heart had stuttered as he’d reminded himself to breathe, trying his best to keep his composure as he’d told the visiting delegation that he had a family matter to attend to.

By the fifth time, he barely bat an eye.

And now, the umpteenth time? Now, Jellal was exhausted.

“Sir?” Erza said, voice low but filled with all the same authority that it carried when she spoke out towards the kingsguard. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her hand as it lifted from her side, timid and unsure before she sighed and let it fall back to her side with the soft clinking of metal.

“Erza,” he breathed, looking up through his azure fringe and fixing her with his gaze as his fingertips remained at his temples. The weight of her name on his tongue eased the domineering set of her shoulders as she stepped forward and set a warm palm on his shoulder, working the pad of her thumb in soothing circles.

“Jellal,” she rectified, treating his name as something special. Only three people in all of the kingdom were allowed to use it, but the way she said it was unlike any other.

“We’re pretty sure we know where she is,” Erza continued as Jellal turned his head just enough to brush his lips against her wrist.

“I’m sure I do too,” he mused, moving his lips against her skin. At this current moment in time, he didn’t even want to be dealing with his duties as king, let alone go get his little sister. What he wanted, was to shove everything aside, grab Erza, and head somewhere where it could just be the two of them. Hadn’t he earned that much?

“You don’t have to come, I’m sure we can handle it,” Erza said, her statement nothing more than a hush as he continued his careful strokes across her wrist.

 _God, did he love her_.

“No,” Jellal said after a moment’s pause, carefully weighing his options. He really didn’t want to leave to get Levy, but he really didn’t want to stay there either.

At least this way he would get some fresh air.

_When even was the last time he’d seen the sun?_

Slowly turning back to face his love, he looked back up to her, a tired smile pulling up at the corners of his mouth before he spoke.

“Let’s go save the princess.”

***

The cave stood before Jellal in all the same glory as it had the last several times he’d found himself riding up to its slate and moss entry. Once upon a time, it had been one of his favorite places.

 _It’s the perfect place for a dragon!_  He had said when he’d found it with Gajeel and Levy. Then, they had both looked at him with eyes large with wonder before looking up at the cave and smiling in agreement.

Really, he only had himself to blame.

“You have to admit, at least they make it easy,” Erza said under her breath, voice colored something much to bright to be disappointment as she bit at the corner of her lip to hide her smile.

“The only bright side,” Jellal rumbled as he pulled back on his horse’s reins, waiting for him to slow before he swung himself down from his saddle. A loud crunch cut through the quiet as he landed gracelessly on the gravel, the rocks rolling against each other in protest beneath the sole of his boot. Without pause, he moved toward the cave’s wide mouth, barely turning his head as he threw the rest of his words over his shoulder.

“I’ll be right back with a princess.”

Erza’s chuckle was warm and low as it followed him past the shadowed threshold of the cave’s entrance. The air was damp and cool beneath the rock as its underside remained untouched by the heat of the sun above. Once, he’d really loved this cave and the escape that it had afforded him, his best friend and his little sister.

There they had fought monsters that only they could see. They had decorated the walls with stick figure drawings of their imagined adventures. Sometimes, they’d even run there to hideaway from the kingdom and all the watchful eyes.

If Jellal was being honest, he missed those days. Missed the days when he was nothing more than a boy with a dragon to fight and a princess to save.

Missed the days when what once brought him so much joy didn’t feel like a chore.

He’d been fun once. Had been able to drop all else in order to run off to get lost in the woods for hours. Now it felt as if all that he knew were politics.

God, was he tired.

Exhaling a loud sigh through his teeth, he pressed on, following a barely there path that he knew would lead to the shallow end of the cave, and consequently his little sister and  _the dragon_.

“What’s wrong, Lev?” Gajeel’s voice carried through the shadows, echoing off the stone around him as he squeezed through the final leg of the path, his chest and back scraping against the rock as he shimmied through the wide crack.

He remembered it being so much bigger.

Finally easing himself from between the walls, Jellal dropped down low behind the boulder that stood just at the exit of the path. A sense of nostalgia rolled through him in waves as he found himself peeking around the fallen rock, eyeing the scene before him. There was something about the quiet way that Gajeel had spoken that erred toward the side of sweet, casting the glow of the fire with something soft. It coated the cave with an atmosphere so delicate, it felt wrong to intrude.

Sat beside the fire atop a woven blanket, Levy had her legs pulled up to her chest with her chin resting on her knees and back resting against Gajeel’s back. Her honey colored eyes reflected the fire before them as Gajeel leant his face forward, pressing his nose to the skin just below her ear as he waited for her reply.

Nothing but the crack and pop of the fire filled the quiet space as she contemplated an answer, her eyebrows pulling in in concentration as she thought. It was the same look he knew her to get when she was working out a particularly hard problem, and suddenly, he found himself anticipating her answer as well.

“Jellal.”

His name was so quiet dropping from her lips that he almost didn’t think he’d heard her right at first.

Him? Levy was worried about him?

There was a soft rustle as Gajeel shifted behind her, wrapping his studded arms carefully around her as he pulled her closer to him.

“We just used to have so much fun,” she continued, voice dipping further as she kept her eyes trained on the flames. “But now, he’s so busy worrying about everyone else that I don’t think he even remembers to breathe.”

In that moment, she couldn’t have been more truthful as the air seized in his lungs.

“He’s the king now, Lev,” Gajeel replied simply, his growling voice directed into her hair as he carefully shook his shoulders. Jellal watched as his wings slowly unfurled, rustling softly as he brought them slowly around them.

“Being busy comes with the territory.”

“I know,” Levy growled as she straightened suddenly with the force of her words, pushing Gajeel back slightly with the motion. “I just—”

Jellal watched on, fingers digging into the hard surface of the boulder as he held his breath, waiting for Levy to finish her thought. Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she pulled her knees further into her chest.

“I just with he could have fun again. Just once.”

A strike of hot pain rolled out across his chest as he heart her sniff back tears.

“Like we used to.”

The pause as her words settled out over the cave was short before it was broken by the sound of Gajeel raucous laughter, causing Jellal to jump at the suddenness of it. Throwing his head back, he laughed upwards towards the cave ceiling, letting his shoulders shake with his mirth ad he hugged Levy closer to him.

“That explains so much, Shrimp,” he finally managed around his wheezing laughter as he turned his attention back to the bluenette. Staring out at the fire with her eyes squinted and cheeks puffed out, Levy huffed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really?” Light flashed across Gajeel’s smile as his voice lilted with teasing. “You don’t know?”

Scoffing lowly, she turned in his arms, looking up at him from over her shoulder as she turned the full force of her stare directly on him, only to be met by a quick waggle of his eyebrows. Jellal saw the exact moment she gave in to Gajeel’s teasing as the hard line of her shoulders finally gave way around a breath as her sharp expression turned sheepish with a smile.

“Am I that transparent?” She asked lowly, peering up through her eyelashes. Dark hair fell across both of them in a curtain as he pressed a quick, chaste kiss to her lips.

“Well, Save the Princess was always his favorite.” The second kiss lingered longer before he pulled away with a soft chuckle.

“What do you think, should I fly you up a tree again?” He asked before he dragged his hands away from around her and dug his fingers into her sides. Tickling her mercilessly, Gajeel earned a loud, high pitched squeal as she swatted at his hands.

“Stupid Gajeel!” She cried before she turned to fully face him, pushing up on her knees so their faces were on the same level. Placing a palm on his shoulder, she waited just a moment before she leant in.

Suddenly, the cave felt all too small as the weight of everything that had been said weighed itself heavily against Jellal’s shoulders. Levy hadn’t only been worried about his happiness, but had also orchestrated the whole thing in some small attempt at giving him the simple joys of the game he used to love so much.

In its own way, it was sweet, and he felt his heart giving way to the squeeze of the love he felt for his sister.

Silently, Jellal shifted back on his heel, turning away from the cave as he pushed himself through the narrow opening of the path. Picking his way back through the cave, he was stunned momentarily by the brightness of the sun as he crossed back through the entrance and back into the forest.

At the sound of him returning, Erza turned her head over her shoulder, her eyes growing wide when she saw that he was alone.

“She wasn’t there?” She asked, arching a brow in worry as her hands tightened over her reins.

“No, she was,” Jellal replied easily, brushing away the thickness that had threatened to choke him from just minutes before. “But I don’t think it will hurt anything if she stays gone a little longer.”

Grabbing at his saddle, he pulled himself up onto his horse, only vaguely aware of Erza’s careful look as he gathered his reins in his hands. Flicking his ocean deep gaze up towards her, he offered her a reassuring smile before tugging his horse to turn back towards the kingdom.

Without another word, she urged her horse alongside his, the both of their mares falling in stride side-by-side as they made their way back towards their home.

_I just with he could have fun again. Just once._

Levy’s voice ran unbidden through his mind, pulling an idea up through the cracks of his thoughts and turning his mouth upwards in a crescent smile as he turned towards Erza.

“Hey Erza,” he said brightly, his grin tilting further up as she looked over towards him with a small smile of her own. With the rays of sunlight dancing across her hair, turning it into crimson fire right there before him, he couldn’t help but think about just how beautiful she was.

“Yes, Jellal?” She breathed, eyes sparkling with light.

“How about we play a game.”


End file.
